{"id":91655,"date":"2021-07-01T07:26:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-01T05:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=91655"},"modified":"2021-09-09T21:04:01","modified_gmt":"2021-09-09T19:04:01","slug":"hybrid-catalyst-technology-for-sustainable-carbon-dioxide-conversion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/hybrid-catalyst-technology-for-sustainable-carbon-dioxide-conversion\/","title":{"rendered":"Hybrid Catalyst Technology for Sustainable Carbon Dioxide Conversion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Carbon dioxide emissions, climate change, and fossil fuels \u2013 three well-known issues causing catastrophic environmental damage. In the past, fossil fuels were heavily relied upon, but supplies are diminishing rapidly. While new sources have replaced them, the damage caused by releasing huge amounts of harmful carbon dioxide over the last century has resulted in a warming climate.<\/strong>\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate change mitigation remains a high priority, with a focus on reducing carbon dioxide emissions to net-zero levels. There are many ideas on how this might be achieved, including carbon capture and storage, or carbon dioxide conversion for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers from the University of Southampton have been studying the latter and developed a hybrid catalyst platform that efficiently and sustainably converts greenhouse gas into a versatile plastic material that could be used in mattresses, clothing, and building installations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start-up Solutions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

ViridiCO2 is a novel mitigation solution developed by chemistry researchers Dr Daniel Stewart and Professor Robert Raja, and is one of eight promising start-ups from the University of Southampton aiming to make the world smarter, safer and more sustainable as part of the Future Worlds <\/em>start-up accelerator project at the university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur ultimate goal is to play a pivotal role in achieving global net zero emission targets,\u201d<\/em> explains Stewart. \u201cQuite simply, we have come up with a process which allows chemical manufacturers to directly replace fossil fuels with carbon dioxide in the production of high value chemicals.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ViridiCO2\u2019s catalyst platform has been engineered to contain highly active sites capable of activating carbon dioxide. \u201cAs carbon dioxide is inherently stable, these sites vastly reduce the amount of energy required to perform chemical transformations with CO2<\/sub>, enabling the production of high-value chemical products under much lower energy regimes,\u201d<\/em> explains Stewart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The novel hybrid catalyst platform is capable of maximum carbon dioxide insertion under lower temperatures, pressures, and dramatically reduced timeframes. These benefits provide superior energy efficiency and high productivity, meaning reduced costs, and unlike other alternatives, the catalysts can be reused and synthesized in minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFurthermore, ViridiCO2\u2019s catalyst is a solid (a heterogeneous catalyst), allowing facile separation post-reaction, reducing time and costs associated with catalyst removal, without which leads to compromised products,\u201d<\/em> says Stewart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The duo believes the patented technology could be retrofitted to the output streams of petrochemical refineries, effectively repurposing the carbon dioxide waste and closing the carbon loop. It would be a major step towards achieving the UK\u2019s target of net zero emissions by 2050.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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